This graphic presents results from APXS onboard NASA's rover Curiosity, with the comparisons simplified across diverse elements by dividing the amount of each element measured in the rocks by the amount of the same element in a local soil.

This graph compares the elemental composition of typical soils at three landing regions on Mars: Gusev Crater, from Spirit; Meridiani Planum, from Opportunity; and now Gale Crater, where NASA's newest Curiosity rover is currently investigating.

This image shows the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) on NASA's Curiosity rover, with the Martian landscape in the background. This image let researchers know that the APXS instrument had not become caked with dust during Curiosity's landing.